رب اشرح لي صدري ويسر لي أمري واحلل عقدة من لساني يفقهوا قولي
Rabbi Ishraḥ lī Ṣadrī wa Yassir lī Amrī wa Uḥlul ʿUqdatan min Lisānī Yafqahū Qawlī
“My Lord, expand my chest and ease my task; loosen the knot in my tongue so that they understand my speech”; said at the opening of a speech.
What it means
This is the prayer of the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) when God sent him to Pharaoh, recorded in the Quran (20:25-28). He asked for his chest to be opened with confidence, for his task to be made easy, and for the knot in his tongue to be untied so that people would understand what he said. Muslims recite it at the start of a speech, a lecture or a sermon, and before an exam or a task that calls for clear speech. It asks God for clarity of mind and expression and for ease in the work, and it recalls that a prophet himself sought God’s help before addressing others.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 58, listed as RABBI ISHRAḤ LĪ ṢADRĪ WA YASSIR LĪ AMRĪ WA UḤLUL ‘UQDATAN MIN LISĀNĪ YAFQAHU QAWLĪ.. The definition is restated here.